CONCORD — A 37-year-old motorcyclist splitting lanes during the morning rush hour crashed into the back of a car and died Friday, police said.

Brandon McCole, of Brentwood, died at the scene after flying off his motorcycle and winding up underneath an Infiniti SUV around 6:45 a.m., CHP spokesman Officer Brandon Correia said. Officers found McCole there when they arrived at the crash scene just south of the Concord Avenue exit on southbound Highway 242, he said.

A pregnant woman driving the SUV went by ambulance to a hospital for precautionary reasons but was not injured. She stopped, cooperated and showed no signs of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Correia said.

The early investigation indicated the motorcyclist split the far two left lanes while driving southbound in heavy traffic, Correia said. The motorcycle then slowed down suddenly and veered right directly into the back of the SUV.

Investigators still have not determined what caused McCole to slow so quickly. The motorcycle also ended up underneath the SUV.

The CHP shut down the two far left lanes of the highway and issued a traffic alert that remained in effect until 8:50 a.m. Traffic stretched back all the way onto westbound Highway 4, a stretch of 3 1/2 miles, and remained at a crawl past 9 a.m.

Gangs were likely involved in the string of arson attacks, police said, and they come amid mounting concerns in Sweden about gang-related violence. More than 40 people were shot and killed in the Nordic country last year, and the prime minister said in January that he was not ruling out a military response to gang activity.

A rooftop camera recorded the silver Ford Fiesta driving past Parliament and suddenly veering sharply to the left, striking cyclists waiting at a set of lights, then crossing the road and crashing into a barrier outside Parliament. Armed police surrounded the car within seconds, pulling a man from the vehicle. Police said the driver was alone and no weapons were...